July 2026 S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Archives
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Recent Posts
- CA11: Yahoo not a govt actor in scanning emails for CSAM
- Treatise 25% off through 7/8
- SCOTUS: Geofence warrants governed by Carpenter and are a search; remanded for resolution of issues (interesting take on third party doctrine, too)
- The Guardian: ‘It’s dangerous and it’s going to erode trust’: redesign of US government websites stokes surveillance fears
- W.D.N.Y.: Possibility of co-conspirators in mass murder justified emergency disclosure request to Apple, Verizon, and Facebook
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ABA Journal Web 100, Best Law Blogs (2015-17) (then discontinued)
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by John Wesley Hall
Criminal Defense Lawyer and
Search and seizure law consultant
Little Rock, Arkansas
Contact: forhall @ aol.com
Search and Seizure (6th ed. 2025)
www.johnwesleyhall.com -
© 2003-26,
online since Feb. 24, 2003 Approx. 600,000 visits (non-robot) since 2012 Approx. 50,000 posts since 2003 (29,000 on WordPress as of 12/31/25) -
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Fourth Amendment cases, citations, and links -
Latest Slip Opinions:
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FDsys, many district courts, other federal courts
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To search Search and Seizure on Lexis.com $ -
Research Links:
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General (many free):
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www.fd.org
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Resources
FBI Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (2008) (pdf)
DEA Agents Manual (2002) (download)
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Stringrays (ACLU No. Cal.) (pdf)
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Congressional Research Service:
--Electronic Communications Privacy Act (2012)
--Overview of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (2012)
--Outline of Federal Statutes Governing Wiretapping and Electronic Eavesdropping (2012)
--Federal Statutes Governing Wiretapping and Electronic Eavesdropping (2012)
--Federal Laws Relating to Cybersecurity: Discussion of Proposed Revisions (2012)
ACLU on privacy
Privacy Foundation
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NACDL’s Domestic Drone Information Center
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Criminal Appeal (post-conviction) (9th Cir.)
Section 1983 Blog -
"If it was easy, everybody would be doing it. It isn't, and they don't."
—Me -
"Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but of playing a poor hand well."
–Josh Billings (pseudonym of Henry Wheeler Shaw), Josh Billings on Ice, and Other Things (1868) (erroneously attributed to Robert Louis Stevenson, among others) -
“I am still learning.”
—Domenico Giuntalodi (but misattributed to Michelangelo Buonarroti (common phrase throughout 1500's)). -
"Love work; hate mastery over others; and avoid intimacy with the government."
—Shemaya, in the Thalmud -
"It is a pleasant world we live in, sir, a very pleasant world. There are bad people in it, Mr. Richard, but if there were no bad people, there would be no good lawyers."
—Charles Dickens, “The Old Curiosity Shop ... With a Frontispiece. From a Painting by Geo. Cattermole, Etc.” 255 (1848) -
"A system of law that not only makes certain conduct criminal, but also lays down rules for the conduct of the authorities, often becomes complex in its application to individual cases, and will from time to time produce imperfect results, especially if one's attention is confined to the particular case at bar. Some criminals do go free because of the necessity of keeping government and its servants in their place. That is one of the costs of having and enforcing a Bill of Rights. This country is built on the assumption that the cost is worth paying, and that in the long run we are all both freer and safer if the Constitution is strictly enforced."
—Williams v. Nix, 700 F. 2d 1164, 1173 (8th Cir. 1983) (Richard Sheppard Arnold, J.), rev'd Nix v. Williams, 467 US. 431 (1984). -
"The criminal goes free, if he must, but it is the law that sets him free. Nothing can destroy a government more quickly than its failure to observe its own laws, or worse, its disregard of the charter of its own existence."
—Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643, 659 (1961). -
"Any costs the exclusionary rule are costs imposed directly by the Fourth Amendment."
—Yale Kamisar, 86 Mich.L.Rev. 1, 36 n. 151 (1987). -
"There have been powerful hydraulic pressures throughout our history that bear heavily on the Court to water down constitutional guarantees and give the police the upper hand. That hydraulic pressure has probably never been greater than it is today."
— Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 39 (1968) (Douglas, J., dissenting). -
"The great end, for which men entered into society, was to secure their property."
—Entick v. Carrington, 19 How.St.Tr. 1029, 1066, 95 Eng. Rep. 807 (C.P. 1765) -
"It is a fair summary of history to say that the safeguards of liberty have frequently been forged in controversies involving not very nice people. And so, while we are concerned here with a shabby defrauder, we must deal with his case in the context of what are really the great themes expressed by the Fourth Amendment."
—United States v. Rabinowitz, 339 U.S. 56, 69 (1950) (Frankfurter, J., dissenting) -
"The course of true law pertaining to searches and seizures, as enunciated here, has not–to put it mildly–run smooth."
—Chapman v. United States, 365 U.S. 610, 618 (1961) (Frankfurter, J., concurring). -
"A search is a search, even if it happens to disclose nothing but the bottom of a turntable."
—Arizona v. Hicks, 480 U.S. 321, 325 (1987) -
"For the Fourth Amendment protects people, not places. What a person knowingly exposes to the public, even in his own home or office, is not a subject of Fourth Amendment protection. ... But what he seeks to preserve as private, even in an area accessible to the public, may be constitutionally protected."
—Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347, 351 (1967) -
“Experience should teach us to be most on guard to protect liberty when the Government’s purposes are beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded
rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding.”
—United States v. Olmstead, 277 U.S. 438, 479 (1925) (Brandeis, J., dissenting)
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“Liberty—the freedom from unwarranted intrusion by government—is as easily lost through insistent nibbles by government officials who seek to do their jobs too well as by those whose purpose it is to oppress; the piranha can be as deadly as the shark.”
—United States v. $124,570, 873 F.2d 1240, 1246 (9th Cir. 1989) -
"You can't always get what you want / But if you try sometimes / You just might find / You get what you need."
—Mick Jagger & Keith Richards, Let it Bleed (album, 1969) -
"In Germany, they first came for the communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a communist. Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for
the Catholics and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Catholic. Then they came
for me–and by that time there was nobody left to speak up."
—Martin Niemöller (1945) [he served seven years in a concentration camp] -
“Children grow up thinking the adult world is ordered, rational, fit for purpose. It’s crap. Becoming a man is realising that it’s all rotten. Realising how to celebrate that rottenness, that’s freedom.”
– John le Carré, The Night Manager (1993), line by Richard Roper -
"The point of the Fourth Amendment, which often is not grasped by zealous officers, is not that it denies law enforcement the support of the usual inferences which reasonable men draw from evidence. Its protection consists in requiring that those inferences be drawn by a neutral and detached magistrate instead of being judged by the officer engaged in the often competitive enterprise of ferreting out crime."
—Johnson v. United States, 333 U.S. 10, 13-14 (1948) -
The book was dedicated in the first (1982) and sixth (2025) editions to Justin William Hall (1975-2025). He was three when this project started in 1978.
Website design by Wally Waller, Colorado Springs. 
Category Archives: Consent
D.S.D.: Leaving door open when retrieving ID during knock and talk is an invitation to enter
Officers doing a knock-and-talk asked defendant for his ID. He left the door open and turned to go get it. When he found the ID, the officers were standing inside behind him. The open door in such situations has been … Continue reading →
OH11: Consent to search a purse is consent to search a wallet inside
Consent to search a purse is consent to search a wallet in the purse. State v. Korb, 2014-Ohio-4543, 2014 Ohio App. LEXIS 4449 (11th Dist. October 14, 2014). “Because White did not clearly, unambiguously, or unequivocally re-assert his right to … Continue reading →
DE: Def didn’t controvert state’s affidavits responding to motion to suppress; denied
The state’s affidavits filed in response to the motion to suppress say the search was by consent, but the defense didn’t controvert. Without there being a factual dispute, no hearing is required on the motion to suppress, and it’s a … Continue reading →
E.D.N.C.: Consent after police entered for protective sweep after arrest outside was involuntary
Defendant was arrested outside his house and officers entered to conduct a protective sweep for protection of evidence. The protective sweep produced nothing. They brought him inside handcuffed and, unMirandized, told him they had probable cause for a warrant and … Continue reading →
CA7: Davis GFE saves pre-Jardines-type search
Defendant was remanded for resentencing, and he sought to reopen his suppression hearing in light of Jardines. Agreeing that a “change in the law” can justify departure from the mandate of reversal, defendant loses on the Jardines argument because it … Continue reading →
OR: Where defendant was to be booked and released, jail search was unreasonable
Search at jail wasn’t shown to be necessary or inevitable, and state conceded error (decided under state constitution). Defendant likely would have been booked and released. State v. Moulton, 2014 Ore. App. LEXIS 1372 (October 8, 2014).* Defendant’s refusal to … Continue reading →
OH5: This patdown was by consent
The patdown here was by consent. A request doesn’t ipso facto make it a demand. “{¶23} The United States Supreme Court further noted, ‘[w]hile most citizens will respond to a police request, the fact that people do so, and do … Continue reading →
MO: A search warrant for a residence includes buildings and vehicles on the curtilage
A search warrant for a residence includes buildings and vehicles on the curtilage. “The warrant also indicated that the residence has a basement, a two-car detached garage, and a wood-burning fireplace. The record indicates that the detached garage is located … Continue reading →
CA7: Search of car was valid both under SI and automobile exception
Defendant had an argument with his girlfriend and took her unlicensed car and drove off. She called the police. The responding officer knew the couple and saw the car immediately. The stop for driving a potentially stolen car was valid … Continue reading →
D.Mass.: Implicit authority to enter was granted by the consenter’s actions not her words
Consent to enter to look for the defendant was granted by the lady who answered the door who put a finger to her lips, looked to a door, and said “He’s not here.” The officers reasonably concluded that was apparent … Continue reading →
CA4: Officers didn’t force their way in, but the exceptions to knock-and-announce applied
The officer hit defendant’s door hard to announce his presence under the knock-and-announce requirement and the door swung open on its own. That was technically a “breaking” under § 3109, but it was reasonable to enter without announcement because of … Continue reading →
D.Mass.: Alleged abandonment of a backpack during forced entry to arrest was involuntary
Defendant arrested by a forced entry disclaimed a backpack, and the court finds this alleged abandonment was involuntary. But he later consented to the search. United States v. Bey, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 139581 (D. Mass. October 1, 2014):
M.D.Tenn.: Def agreed to suspicionless probation searches
Defendant agreed to suspicionless probation searches, and this one is sustained under Samson. United States v. Tessier, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 137301 (M.D. Tenn. September 29, 2014).* A dog alert on a motorhome for drugs justified a search of it. … Continue reading →
NY Times: California Will Allow Family Members to Seek Seizure of Guns
NY Times: California Will Allow Family Members to Seek Seizure of Guns by Ian Lovett: California will be the first state in the country to allow private citizens to ask a court to seize guns from family members who they … Continue reading →
LA5: Failing to object to evidence at trial after denial of motion to suppress is waiver
After defendant’s motion to suppress was denied, the evidence was offered at trial saying “No objection, your Honor.” That was trial waiver. State v. Patin, 2014 La. App. LEXIS 2288 (La.App. 5 Cir. September 24, 2014). The trial court credited … Continue reading →
MO: [Like hundreds of other cases,] Furtive movement to passenger seat during stop justifies longer detention
Defendant’s traffic stop had a factual basis, and his furtive movements to the passenger seat made a slightly longer investigative detention valid. State v. Perry, 2014 Mo. App. LEXIS 1040 (September 23, 2014). An officer and a CPS worker came … Continue reading →
TN: No Davis GFE for pre-Jones GPS tracking in Tennessee
Pre-Jones installation of a GPS device not saved by a Davis-type good faith exception because Tennessee never adopted the good faith exception and there was no binding precedent from the state or SCOTUS on the issue. [Interesting discussion of the … Continue reading →
OK: Cell phone search warrant based on prior invalid consent search suppressed; no GFE
The pre-Riley search warrant for defendant’s cell phone was based on an invalid consent search, and the good faith exception does not apply to warrants based on a prior illegal search. State v. Thomas, 2014 OK CR 12, 2014 Okla. … Continue reading →
E.D.Ky.: Drs body cavity search at hospital was private search not instigated by the police
Defendant was taken to the hospital for a medical emergency, and the doctor on his own did a search of the body. It was never asked for by the police, so it did not implicate the Fourth Amendment. This case … Continue reading →
KS: Despite coerced consent for blood draw, no exclusionary rule for DL suspension proceeding
The threat to get a BAC warrant here lacked a legal basis under the statute, so defendant’s consent was coerced. The exclusionary rule does not apply in administrative driver’s license suspension proceedings. The court also disagreed with another panel of … Continue reading →